Runway for excavating-machines.



'0. E. sTREHLow.

RUNWAY FOR EXCAVATING MACHINES. l

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 8, 1916. 1 ,1 91,365. Patented July 18, 1916.

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RUNWAY FOR EXCAVATING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 8. |916.

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O. E. STREHLOW.

RuNwAY FOR ExcAvATlNG. MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. B, |916. 1,191,365. Patented July 18, 1916.

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and avoid the Vdisadvantages of prior runrin'rrnn sra'rns rnrnnfr oracion.

OSCAR EMIL STREHLOW, OFv EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

RUNWAY FOR EXCAVA'IING-IVIACHINES.

Application filed February 8, 1916.

T0 all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that'I, OSCAR EMIL STREE- Low, a citizen of the United States, residing at Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Runways lfor Excavating-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a sectional track or runway for trucks mounted on wheels, and is particularly designed as a track suitable for supporting heavy four-truck excavating machines used for grading, or excavating canals, or other heavy engineering operations where the work is done along `a double track line extending for a considerable distance, and where the track is laiddown in advance of the machine as the work.

the right distance apart, and if the groundv is soft they are liable to spread. Further` more, because of the necessity of a broad foundation for each track, especially in soft ground, the machine cannot work as closel travel upon two tracks, one at each side of the runway. The runway is composed of a' number ofsimilar sections, which are suit-V to the runway as desirable.

The object of my invention is to pro-vide a runway made up of sections or units capable of being readily detached from one end of the runway and applied to the other,

sufliciently rigid and so constructed as to form a complete whole, so that weight upon any portion thereof will be distributed to ad- .j jacent parts; to provide for abundant contact with and support of the runway upon the ground beneath, so that adequate support to the excavating machine will be afforded even though the underlying soil be comparatively yielding in its nature; and

generally, to so construct and arrange the parts of a track of this character that it will li ave various advantages and useful and novel features not hitherto known in the art',

ways above pointed out.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July i8, 1916.

Serial No. 77,107.

l/Vitli the foregoing objects in view my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts of my new and improved runway, the essential features of the invention being more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a runway consisting of nine sections; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of such runway, showing an excavating machine mounted there-on; Fig. 3 is a yplan of one of the sections of the runway; Figs. l and 5 are sections of such runway sections on the line 1 -l and 5-5, respectively, of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a perspective of one section showing it suspended by the hoisting apparatus of the excavator, as when being transferred from one position to another; Fig. 7 is a detail plan view of a portion of twoadjacent sections near their ends, showing the manner in which they are secured together; Fig. 8

is a detail side elevation of the same parts; Fig. 9 is a detail section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8; and Fig. 10 is a perspective of one of the separating blocksused to connect the sections together.

, The .saine reference characters indicate the saine parts in all the figures of the drawing.

In the particular embodiment of my invention which is illustrated in the drawings and will herein be described, the runway is adapted and suited for the supportof a fourtruck excavating machine of large size, such as ordinarily would weigh about two hundred and forty tons. vThe front and rear trucks at the opposite side of the machine ably secured together, and will now be more particularly described.

The side members 1 of each section-approximately thirty feet long in the case of such a track as that illustrated,- consist of heavy I-beams, the flanges and webs of whichl run through uncut from endV to end,

.excepting for a rectangular shoulder or cove at the end of each top flange on its outer side. These side members are not parallel, but spread somewhat from onerend to the other. At the broader end they are connected by av pair of I-beams 2 and 3 and at the narrower end by the pair of similar beams 4 and 5, the members of each pair being spaced apart approximately the distance between the centers of the rails of the track which- 19 which the side members 1 are radial.

85 plates 15.

they support. The flanges of the cross beams are of course cut away to lit the intersecting surface of the side members 1, and the cross and side members are rigidly secured together by L-shaped gusset plates disposed at the corners of the intersecting webs.

The pairs of rails, 6 and 7 of one track, and 8 and 9 of the other, are slightly curved, and are concentric segments of circles of The top flanges of the cross-beams, as shown, and preferably, are suiiiciently broad to adequately support the basis of the rails, which latter are mounted directly upon and are riveted securely to them, although if desired the rails may be supported by the crossbeams indirectly in any suitable manner, as, for instance, narrow cross-beams may be employed and metal ties laid upon them to support the rails. In such a runway as that being described, a convenient and proper curve for the outer track would be described by a radius of one hundred and thirty feet.

A diagonal brace, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, extends from one side member 1 near one inner cross-beam to the opposite side beam 1 near the other inner cross-beam. In the present instance this bracing member is a lattice girder designed 80Y to take both compression and tension stresses,

and is built up of upper angle-irons 11 and lower angle-irons 12 riveted to the opposite sides of end plates 13, and obliquely disposed cross-bars 14 and central rectangular cross- The end plates 13 are cut and bent to conform to the shape of the adjacent side members 1 and are riveted to the web portion of such members, and top plates 16 are riveted to the ends of the top members of '40 the upper angle-irons 11 and the upper flanges of the side members 1, thereby firmly securing the brace in place.

To provide convenient means of attachment for the grappling hooks of the hoist of 4r the machine, so that a section can be lifted from the rear of the track and swung around 1n position to be lowered at the front of the runway, I have provided four plates 17 riveted to the top flanges of the side beams l andhaving upwardly and inwardly extending portions formed with eyes to which the hooks may readily be attached. These four lplates are symmetrically arranged with respect to the center of gravity of the section,

so that the section will hang and may easily be deposited horizontally.

The ends of the sections are arranged to be secured together by pins 18, which are driven through large holes 19, in the present instance four in number, formed in the ends of the cross webs of the side members l of the sections, and through separating blocks or separators 20, which are formed and con structed to be interposed between the side members of adjacent or meeting sections.

18 are provided, two only will under ordinary conditions prove sutiicent, but of course all four may be used if needed. Preferably the ends of the pins are pointed or tapered, so that exact registration of the holes 19 will be unnecessary, and so that the centering action of the pins may serve to bring the sections into correct relation, with the ends of their rails accurately abutting each other. rIhe pins 18 are each provided with a crossslot into which a wedge or key 21 is driven. In the present instance the cross-slot of the pin is so located that it will lie outside the vertical plane of the edge of the upper flange of the side beam 1, in order that such liange may not interfere with the blows of the sledge hammers ordinarily used for driving in the keys, and the intervening space is filled with the spacing blocks and washers Besides the holes 19a, the separators 20 are provided with bolt holes 23, and the adjacent portion of the webs of the side members 1, of the sections are provided with holes 24 registering therewith, whereby the separators may be individually attached by bolts 25 to a single section. Ordinarily, in straight-ahead work, two separators are bolted to two diagonal corners of each section, and are left attached to the section when the bolts 18 are removed, so that the section and separators are handled as a unit. One side plate or web of the separator extends lower than the other, and is of such length as to rest upon the top of the lower flange of the side beam to which it is bolted when the holes 23 and 24 are in registration, thus affording a ready means of positioning the parts when the separator is secured to the section by the bolts 26. It results from the shortened or cutaway construction of the opposite or free side plate o-f the separators, that no resistance is offered to the detachment of a section from the rear of the runway, and likewise there is no interference in positioning such section when it is adjusted to the front of the runway.

The central-wall or cross-web of each separator is preferably extended upwardly and formed into a loop 23a, so that a cable may be hitched to it if necessary.

In laying down a runway following a straight course, the sections will be laid down with the broad and narrow ends of the sections alternating at the o-pposite sides of the runway. This will of course result in a wavy or serpentine direction of the rails; but this is entirely immaterial as the distance between the centers of the tracks is accurately preserved, and in the operation of such machines as excavating machines the speed is so slow that the frequent (and slight) change of direction causes no trouble. In following a curved course the broad ends of adjacent sections are laid together on the outside of the curve, alternating at intervals with sections having their narrow ends on that side, if necessary to reduce the sharpness of the curve to the particular extent desired, so as to produce whatever change of direction may be required.

In carrying forward my new runway, the space on which the next section is to be laid down is graded as may be necessary, and ties or timbers are laid transversely of the direction of the cross-beams and rails, except for a short space extending under the side beams, where a number of ties (which conveniently may be somewhat shorter than the ties first mentioned) are laid parallel with the cross-beams and of course transversely bridging the joint between the side beams. tion of section the added section with the forward already in place, and also to distribute uniformly the` strain which arises during the settlement of the two sections. If the ground should be of a yielding character any required number of ties may be laid under the side beams of the sections,

and since all the sections are firmly ,se

cured together they will afford considerable strength and support one to the other. Since the two tracks are tied together they cannot spread and will not require the same degree of lateral support as two independent tracks would need, and the excavating work can therefore be carried on nearer to the runway. It will be understood, however, that it is neither necessary or desirable that the runway shall be absolutely rigid and inflexible, but on the contrary it is preferable that it should yield to a limited extent, although distributing a large amount of strain from one section to another.

In practice the cross-beams are of such length that the narrow end of one section and the broad end of an adjacent section will equal the distance between the centers of the two tracks on one side of the excavating machine. In performing the excavating work, the machine is set with the two wheels of each truck spanning the joints between the sections, so that the strain of the work (which is largely transverse to the direction of the rails) may fall in the line of the side members of the sections.

It is obvious that my invention may be applied to runways and tracks of lighter construction than.the ponderous one herein described, as for instance to locomotive cranes and other still lighter machines, and

that many of the features of advantages of my invention may be retained though but a single rail be employed at each end of each section, that is, at each side of the runway.

This is done to facilitate registra- I therefore do not intend that my invention shall be limited to the specific structure herein described, or to the size and proportions of the parts.

I claim:

1. A runway made up of detachable sections secured together, each section being oblong in shape and including side members and two pairs of cross-beams adjacent the ends of said side members yand two pairs of rail sections supported by said crossbeams.

2. A runway made up of detachable sections secured together, each section being oblong in shape and including -side members having a flanged base and two pairs of cross-beams having flanged bases and two pairs of rail sections supported by said' cross-beams.

3. A runway made up of detachable sections secured together, each section being oblong in shape and including side members and two pairs of cross-beams adjacent the ends'of said side members and two corresponding pairs of rail sections, the members of which are mounted respectively on said cross-beams. I j

4. Av runway made up of detachable sections secured together', each section being oblong in shape and including sidemembers, two pairs of cross-beams having" fianged tops and two corresponding pairs of rail sections, the members of which are mounted respectively on the flanged tops ofk said cross-beams.

5. A runway made up of detachable sections secured together, each section including side members and cross-beams secured to said side members and rails mounted upon said cross members, and a diagonal brace extending between said side members.

6. A runway made up of detachable sections, each section being oblong in shape and including side members and crossbeams and rail sections supported by said cross-beams, and securing means adjacent the ends of the side members for detachably securing said Sectio-ns together.

7. A runway made up of detachable sections, each section being oblong in shape and including side members and crossbeams and rail sections supported by said crossbeams and the ends of each side member being formed with bolt holes adapted to register with the bolt holes of an adjacent section, and bolts in said holes for securing said sections together.

8. A runway made up of detachable sections, each section being oblong in shape and including side members and crossbeams and rail sections supported by said cross-beams and the ends of each side member being formed with bolt holes adapted to register with the bolt holes of an .adjacent section, separating blocks formed with registering bolt holes interposed between adjacent registering ends of the side members, and bolts in said holes for securing said sections together.

9. A runway made up of detachable sections, each section being` oblong in shape and including `side members and crossbeams and rail sections supported by said cross-beams and the ends of each side member being formed with bolt holes adapted to register with the bolt holes of an adjacent section, and each section having secured to its side-members at two diagonally opposite corners separating blocks formed with bolt holes arranged to register with the bolt holes in the side members of the adjacent sections, and bolts in said holes for securing vsaid sections together.

10. A runway made up of detachable sections, each section being oblong. in shape and including side members having flanged bases and cross-beams yand rail sections supported by said cross-beams and the ends of each side member being formed with bolt -v holes adapted to register with the bolt holes of an adjacent section, and each section havmg secured to its side members at two diagonally opposite corners separat-ing blocks formed with bolt holes arranged to register with the bolt holes in the side members of the adjacent sections, the free side of each separating block being cut away to avoid interference with the flange at the base ot the adjacent section, and bolts in said holes for securing said sections together.

1l. A detachable section for runways of the character described and including side members and straight cross-beams flanged at the top and curved rail sections mounted upon the top said flanges, said lianges being wider' than the bases of the rails and supporting such bases at all points thereof throughout the length of the flanges.

l2. A detachable section for runways of the character described and including an oblong frame and rails mounted on said frame transversely near the opposite end thereof, and a plurality of hooks and eyes secured to said frame and symmetrically disposed with respect to its center of gavity whereby it may be swung in horizontal position by a gang of grappling hooks.

, OSCAR EML STREHLOVV.

`Witnesses Louis B. EnwrN, ROBERT DOBBERMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

